France rejects accusations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
France on Wednesday became the latest Western country to reject accusations that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinian civilians in Gaza, a charge recently filed in a United Nations court in The Hague.
Stéphane Séjourné, France's newly appointed foreign minister, told lawmakers in France's lower house that “the rule of law applies to all and the systematic strikes in Gaza must stop.”
But, Mr. Séjourné added, “words have meaning.”
“Accusing the Jewish state of genocide is crossing a moral threshold,” he said. “The idea of genocide cannot be exploited for political purposes. This has always been our position.”
Israel is facing charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice, where South Africa has filed a case arguing that Israel wants to “create conditions of death” in Gaza and demanding that the court order an emergency suspension of the military campaign there. Israeli authorities deny the accusation.
South Africa has won praise both at home and in other countries for challenging what they see as a Western-led global order biased against Israel.
The United States has called the case meritless, and several European countries have also rejected it. Germany, which intervened in the case as a third party on Israel's behalf, said there is “no basis whatsoever” for South Africa's claim. Israel was founded in the wake of the Nazi-led genocide of European Jewry, and Germany has rooted much of its post-Holocaust identity in the idea of supporting the Jewish state.
President Emmanuel Macron of France made no mention of the South African case during a wide-ranging press conference on Tuesday, but he said that “all lives are equal” and that many in France were “shocked” by the fate of civilians in Gaza.
“The priority is the ceasefire,” Macron said, blaming Hamas for using civilians as a “shield” and saying Israel had the right to defend itself. But he argued that Israel should follow humanitarian law by prioritizing “targeted operations” over broad bombardments.
“And I say this because it is also in Israel's long-term security interests,” he said. “Continuing operations in the way they are currently being conducted is taking a risk – including in the long term, given the impact it has across the region – for Israel's security.”
France, home to some of Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim communities, has seen fierce debate over the Gaza conflict, including within the highest diplomatic ranks. In November, there were a dozen French ambassadors in countries in the Middle East and North Africa expressed unease about Macron's alleged pro-Israel stance attitude.
Mr Séjourné's comments on Wednesday came in response to a question from Danièle Obono, a lawmaker from the left-wing France Unbowed party, who argued that “if France wants to be consistent with its values, France must urgently follow South Africa's example .”
“History is watching us, and it will not be kind to those who knew nothing and did nothing,” she said.
Mr Séjourné responded that “we don't need lessons from your party,” as France Unbowed has done faced intense criticism for refusing to label Hamas a terrorist group. “That's the scandal, Mrs. Obono,” he said.